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JEDPL Reviews: Medaka Box Abnormal
Hi there. Umm... My review on Nisio Isin and Studio Gainax's Medaka Box was made nearly six-to-seven months ago. Is anyone's memory getting jogged here? {cricket noises} Can't say I blame y'all! I PROBABLY gave the anime a bit too much credit. "What exactly do I mean by that", you may ask? How should I put this without sounding like a pretentious a-hole whose only friends are hashtags? {ahem} Medaka Box, which lasted for a total of 11 episodes plus one filler, was initially forgettable. Sure, it had an eccentric Parody Sue in the form of Medaka Kurokami herself, and an unexpected Genre Shift that was pulled during the ninth episode, but the series was nothing special. It was, essentially, your average slice-of-life franchise that took place at a school mixed in with some of the most unsurprising humor; Zenkichi Hitoyoshi having to walk in on someone whenever they're undressed was the only thing I found admittedly amusing. In particular, I had special criticism reserved for a majority of dull character designs and the English dub by Sentai Filmworks having some peculiar casting issues as well as name massacring. Why the Aquaman is Steven Foster still hanging around Houston for!? Bleeeegh.... Anyway, I have done enough rambling for now! Whaaaat's up, fellow children of the Animapredictview Wiki?! It is I, Ouroburos the Extreme Conqueror, and captain of this beloved site. It's been QUITE awhile, for I've been mostly stagnant here since Christmas Break; one of the last two projects I completed here beforehand was the review of Accel World; you should realize by now how that turned out. Today is a Sempiternal Saturday, and like all Saturdays, I'm sure you and I will have a gay old time skimming through my review. And whaddaya know??? I'm tackling a second season, ladies and gentlemen! Similar to its predecessor, this one has eleven episodes with one last show being another special treat. The BIG difference here is that Season 2 plays out a helluva lot differently, with some twists here and there. Gainax also adapted the successor as best as they pretty much could. So without further adieu, boys and girls, children of all ages except for Toshio Saeki (you sadistic f***), heeeeeeeere's Medaka Box Abnormal! The review It all takes place after Myouri Unzen, the head of the disciplinary committee, was defeated by the hands of False Super Saiyan, Medaka Kurokami. The Hakoniwa Academy is now in shambles, and our bombshell of a female lead is asked by the chairman of the school, Hakama Shiranui (granddaughter to Lolicon McG--- Hansode Shiranui), to join an organization known as the "Thirteen Party": made up of, you guessed it, thirteen Abnormals from..... {boring ass drumroll} Class 13. Now lemme ask each and every one of you people something: which number implies far worse things that are to happen? 666, the number of the beast? Or 13, as in Friday the 13th? {shrugs} That's what I thought. The rest of the synopsis is... well, I gotta be honest: holy shit. Certainly MBA ''is a far cry from the original story, opting to directly veer towards Shōnen territory. And... I enjoy this particular direction. The sales of ''Medaka Box ''were originally sucking a load of ass anyhow, so this was perhaps Isin's attempt to save it once and for all. And man, did he come through! How the plot is structured during ''Abnormal ''can be hit-or-miss for me: at times, I suppose that, given that it's merely played for laughs and is meant to be catering to the fanbase, it works. But when you have only a whopping 12 episodes and your only option is to sandwich in about three of four chapters each episode, it can be assumed that Gainax had no choice but to rush the story occasionally. As a matter of fact, I kept echoing to myself, "Goddamn! That escalated quickly!". This is just a little piece of trivia, but at the complete end of each episode of this season, there is always going to be an omake named "Abnormal Check", which is basically a character giving out one question (normally about a mundane topic such as "What color are my panties?") and then, immediately after, three probable answers; the third and final one's more ridiculous than the previous two. EVERY. FRIGGIN'. TIME! There are just moments where I actually think that these work in comparison to the generic "Next Episode Previews" that the previous season had. Much of the new characters that are introduced this season are mainly a part of the aforementioned Class 13. For examples, you know a masked child, Mizou Yukuhashi, who might suffer from gender dysphoria as much as Laura Jane Grace, and then one Kei Munakata, a hypocrite who pretends to be a serial killer since everybody at 4chan told him it was epic. Even if they are, at first, antagonists, I would say that a good chunk of the Thirteen Party have endearing characteristics and seem to be more than enough to make the ''Medaka Box ''series into something different. Regarding the animation, it has marginally gotten better this time around. Much of the fight scenes, such as the second one between Medaka Kurokami and Scary Black Man, Shigusa Takachiho, are rather impressive. I was even able to catch a glance at some surprises, like Medaka's pseudo-Shadow Clone Jutsu ability.... whatever... My bad. A noticeable drop in quality was overlooked by yours truly, but for no biased reasons whatsoever. Did I forget to mention that Kouki Akune's past is revealed? And I can stomach his character finally just because? It has very little to do with how the visuals fare, but it's just a lil' something I decided to bring up during this review. Musically speaking, I love BOTH the opening and ending themes. I believe that "Shugōshin Paradox" by Aki Misato has the slight edge, but by no means am I saying that Minami Kuribayashi's "Believe" (opening song) is bad. Tatsuya Katō's score for ''MBA HAS weight, in stark contrast to his quite underappreciative work on Season 1. I wish I could name some highlighted pieces, but that would result in copious amounts of time consumption. Leave all the consuming to Kirby, guys! Unfortunately, I DO harness drawbacks that I've been saving for this particular element: the voice acting. It isn't at all a problem in the original version; standouts include Miyuki Sawashiro as Youka Naze, Katsuyuki Katsunuma as Oudo Miyakonojou, and Junichi Suwabe as Maguro Kurokami (Siscon alert!). The English dub, on the other hand, is somewhat insipid. There are certain highlights such as Clint Bickham's portrayal of Munakata and also Meg McDonald as Yukuhashi, but the rest ranges from middling to just plain ridiculous; WHY THE SHIT DOES OUDO HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT!?!?!? DOES IT REPRESENT HIS SUPERIORITY COMPLEX!?!?!?!?!?!?! And last but not least, I'd rather have a Zenkichi that sounds his age than.... this. Here are a couple of suitable alternatives: #Josh Grelle #Chris Patton #Vic Mignogna #David Wald Am I missing anyone out here, peoples? Final verdict The bottom line: ''Medaka Box Abnormal ''surpasses its predecessor in nearly every way. Although the character designs can still be a bit on the generic side of the world, and the English voice cast leaves much to be desired (thanks to a certain somebody), this sudden change in the story is definitely a little bit of what the series needed. Much of the new characters that made their debuts this season make for powerful factors... I couldn't be anymore thrilled. Until next time, I am Ouroburos the Extreme Conqueror, and.... {checks the current time} MOTHERF***ER!!!!! This review ended quickly. Maybe next time, I shouldn't end articles such as this on an abrupt note. Yeesh! "Screw the rules, I have green hair!" 20:51, January 11, 2014 (UTC) Ouroburos the Extreme Conqueror Category:Review